


When In The End You Fail To Save Them

by DazzleYourMindsEye



Series: When In The End You Fail To Save Them [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Depiction of Violence, Description of Blood/Injury, Loss of Limbs, emergency amputation, hey remember that theory we all had that blake would lose her leg?, im sorry in advance for this one, not too graphic, ouch this hurts, power hour exercise, serious injury, this takes place after the volume 7 finale, yeah so this happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:35:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23523922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DazzleYourMindsEye/pseuds/DazzleYourMindsEye
Summary: Yang didn’t even register she was screaming until her throat started to burn.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Series: When In The End You Fail To Save Them [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2005444
Comments: 43
Kudos: 229
Collections: Bmblb





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Oh this is a rough one, guys. This was a power hour exercise for the Bumblby Big Bang Discord and it got a bit out of hand. This hurt to write, but it was also a bit cathartic. Please don't hate me...

Salem descended upon Mantle like an evil rain, and everything erupted into chaos.

Fire, screaming, heavy smoke, the deep snarls and grunts and shrieks…

Yang ran down the street as fast as she could, the breath burning in her lungs and heartbeat pounding in her ears. A Beowulf leapt towards her from the smoke to her right, its growl deep enough to rattle her bones. Yang struck out, and felt its skull crack under her fist.

_Just keep moving, just keep moving, find the others…_

Yang turned the corner and almost ran right into the open jaws of a huge Ursa. Instinct took over and she ducked feeling the wind from jaws snapping shut where her head had been milliseconds earlier. The Grimm spun in place and - moving much faster than a beast of its size should - charged forward, knocking Yang over and pinning her beneath a heavy paw. It roared, deafening, and before it could bite her head off Yang lodged her metal fist under its throat, locking the elbow. The Ursa snarled in rage and snapped its jaws inches from her face, so close she could feel the heat of its rancid breath.

It pressed down on its massive paw, pushing Yang harder against the concrete and she wheezed. Just as her vision started to blur, the beast above her gave another roar of pain, shuddered and slumped to the side. A six foot lance of ice protruding from its neck.

“YANG!”

A flash of red and Ruby threw her arms around her sister, who still lay prone on the ground, wheezing.

“I’m alright, I’m alright.” She huffed, slowly pulling to her feet.

“You don’t look alright.” Weiss jogged up behind Ruby, Myrtenaster held at the ready. Her braid was starting to come unraveled and Ruby’s cape had a huge rip in it, but they both looked whole.

“I’m fine. Have you seen Blake?”

“Yeah, she was just behind us a moment ago -”

A concussive BOOM cut Ruby off mid-sentence, from just a street over, the roar of Grimm cutting through the smoke and red flashing streetlights.

“BLAKE!!” Yang felt a scream rip from her throat and she took off down the street, ignoring the shouts of her teammates behind her.

_Blakeblakeblakeblakenonononono..._

She turned the corner and the white of Blake’s coat quickly caught her eye. She was backed up against the ruined side of a building, a snarl on her lips as she fired off shots from Gambol Shroud, but the dust rounds only glanced off the armor of the biggest Boarbatusk Yang had ever seen, easily the size of a truck. The beast looked a little worse for wear – it was limping and it was missing an ear. But that seemed to have only served to infuriate the Grimm, and even from this distance Yang could see the hatred in its hellish red eyes as it stared Blake down. The Grimm pawed at the ground with its huge hoof, kicking up dust. She saw Blake tense her legs.

It seemed to happen in slow motion. The Boarbatusk charged, its squeal of rage deafening and Blake rolled to the side just as the Grimm collided with the side of the building. The enormous wall wobbled, then slowly, achingly slowly, began to fall.

“BLAKE!” Yang shouted, but her partner seemed to be frozen, staring up at the crumbling building as it bore down on her.

Blake turned at Yang’s shout and just met her eyes as she disappeared beneath the rubble in a billowing cloud of dust.

Yang didn’t even register she was screaming until her throat started to burn. She reached the rubble and began to frantically pull at the rocks and bricks, tossing them behind her carelessly. She vaguely registered Ruby and Weiss’s running footsteps behind her, but the only thoughts running a marathon through her mind were _Blake gods no please be okay please pleaseplease…_

She hooked her hands under a solid slab and gave it a heave, throwing the piece somewhere off to the side and there lay Blake, limp against the rubble.

Yang fell to her knees. She reached out, shaking, and cradled Blake’s face – using her thumb to wipe away the dirt on her cheek.

Blake’s eyelids fluttered, and she groaned. The relief that swept through Yang almost brought a laugh bubbling to her lips. Blake took in a sharp breath and blinked her eyes open. “Y-Yang?”

“Shh, it’s okay. You’re okay. Just lie still.” Yang swept her eyes over Blake’s body, looking for injuries. She appeared whole, but one of her legs was still trapped beneath a large chunk of wall below the knee. Yang moved towards it and set her shoulder against the rock and heaved.

The boulder didn’t budge.

She pushed harder, feeling the muscles in her back protest. But Blake gave a sharp cry, and Yang leapt away from the slab like it burned her. The color had drained from Blake’s face, and she had screwed her eyes shut panting.

“Fuck, I’m sorry, I’m sorry..”

Blake gave another pained groan. “M-my leg...”

Ruby, who had also collapsed to her knees and pulled Blake’s head into her lap, shared a frantic look with Weiss.

Yang set her shoulder against the slab again, letting out a roar of frustration. The rubble refused to budge. Her eyes flickered red, and her hair glowed briefly as she slammed her shoulder against the rock again. The rock shifted, just a little, but Blake _**screamed**_ , her cry echoing off the buildings around them.

“Yang. Stop.” Yang felt Weiss’s cool hand lay on her shoulder, and she shook it off. She lay her forehead against the cool stone, breathing harsh through her nose. She sniffed and wiped her cheeks. Took a deep breath. Then turned and knelt at Blake’s side. Her partner lay still, pale against the dark stone. Yang took her hand and squeezed it. Blake’s eyes fluttered and she looked up at Yang. A grimace twisting her lips. “It’s bad isn’t it?”

The brief urge to reassure her, to tell her everything would be fine, surged through Yang, but she also knew Blake wouldn’t appreciate it. “Yeah. It’s bad.”

Blake thumped her head back against the stone, groaning. “I can feel it.”

“What are we going to do?” Weiss said quietly. “We can’t just leave her.”

Blake coughed. “Yes you can.”

“Like Hell.” said Yang, her voice iron. “We’re not leaving you here.”

“Maybe we can go get help?” said Ruby. “If we can get her to Jaune -”

“And how are we going to move her? All of us are out of aura and we can’t move that rock. Things are getting worse down here.” Weiss glanced pointedly up at the dark cloud hovering overhead, at the monstrous Grimm slowly circling Atlas.

Yang felt Blake grip her forearm, squeezing. Yang turned from her teammates down to Blake’s pale pained face. “You have to take it off.”

“What?” Said Yang, leaning closer thinking she’d misheard.

Blake’s eyes squeezed shut against another wave of pain, then she opened them to stare directly into Yang’s eyes. “You can’t lift the rock. You won’t leave me here. You have to **cut i** **t** **off**.”

Nausea rose up in Yang’s throat, and she opened her mouth to protest but nothing came out. She glanced down, and from what little she could see of Blake’s leg below the knee didn’t look good. Blood was beginning to seep out from under the rubble.

Yang swallowed to force down the nausea and she met Blake’s eyes again. “Are you sure?”

Blake nodded weakly, but decisively. “You need to wrap something around the area above the wound, tighten it to reduce bleeding.”

Yang cast a cursory glance around, and seeing nothing yanked the yellow bandanna from around her neck and began to tie it around Blake’s leg, just above the knee.

She heard Weiss’s sharp intake of breath from behind her as her teammate noticed what she was doing.

“We need something sharp, and sturdy.” said Yang, not looking up from her task.

“Huh?” she heard Ruby say.

Weiss whispered something harsh into her ear and Ruby paled. She gulped, swallowing down the same nausea that crept up Yang’s own throat.

Yang forced down every emotion swirling in her head, and cast her eyes around for anything they could use. She briefly eyed Gambol Shroud, lying next to Blake, but the blade was small, it would take too long and be painful.

“I’ll do it.”

Ruby’s voice came from behind her. Timid and small, but steady. Yang straightened and looked at her sister, eyes wide.

Ruby hefted Crescent Rose, a shine catching on the edge of its sharp blade. “I’m Team Leader. I’ll do it.”

Ruby straightened her shoulders and turned to Weiss. “Weiss, cover us.”

Weiss had gone paler than Yang had ever seen her, but she swallowed and nodded, her face solemn. She turned and took a battle stance, her back to them.

“Blake.” Ruby stroked a piece of short dark hair away from Blake’s face. Blake fluttered her eyes open and met her team leader’s silver gaze. “Are you absolutely sure about this?”

Blake took in a breath, and nodded once.

“Okay.” The finality in Ruby’s voice chilled Yang. “Yang, sit right here, get her something to bite down on. I’ll try to make it quick, but this won’t be pleasant.”

Yang maneuvered so she was now in Ruby’s spot, supporting Blake’s head. She watched her sister and team leader crouch down by Blake’s knee, grimacing. She saw Ruby visibly swallow.

Yang offered her sleeve to Blake. “Bite down.”

Blake obediently took Yang’s sleeve in her mouth, breathing harshly through her nose. Out of the corner of her eye Yang saw Ruby move Crescent Rose and place the curved tip right below Blake’s knee, just at the edge of the rubble.

“Ready?” Ruby’s voice barely wobbled. Blake squeezed her eyes shut and Yang leaned down to touch her forehead to her partners.

“On 3. 1..2…3”

Crescent Rose went off with a BANG and Blake jerked in Yang’s grip, her scream muffled through her sleeve.

And it was over. Blake slid free of the rubble, tears tracking through the dirt on her cheeks. Yang’s vision blurred as she dragged Blake free of the collapsed building. She crumpled next to Blake and gathered her in her arms, stroking her hair and murmuring.

Yang barely heard the clatter of Crescent Rose being thrown to the side and Ruby retching in the street.

Blake heaved in her arms, her entire torso shuddering.

“Shh, it’s over, it’s over, it’s done...” Yang whispered, stroking Blake’s hair and burying her face in her neck. Blake only whimpered.

“We have to get her to Jaune.” Weiss said from where she was rubbing Ruby’s back in firm circles, who was still bent over with her hands braced on her knees.

Yang pulled her face away from Blake’s neck, feeling her own tears wet on her cheeks. Yes. Get Blake to Jaune. She could do that. That was all could she could do.

Yang shifted, moving her arm under Blake’s shoulders and the other under her knee (trying desperately not to look too closely at what was missing) and picked her up in her arms. Blake had lost consciousness, her head lolling against Yang’s shoulder. Yang gave her a little shake. “Blake? You have to stay awake. For me.”

Blake’s eyelids fluttered and she groaned, cracking them open revealing a sliver of gold.

Yang gave her a shaky smile. “That’s it. Stay with me.”

“Jaune’s at the south end of the city.” Ruby wiped her mouth and picked up Crescent Rose. For the first time, it looked heavy in her grasp. “We need to hurry.”

“We’ll cover you, Yang.” Weiss said, hefting Myrtenaster.

Yang tightened her grip on her partner and nodded. “Let’s go.”


	2. Crushed by The Weight of the World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Easter and Passover everyone!  
> Wow this ended up being much longer than I originally planned! You all wanted a part 2, and here it is! At over 3000 words! Guess my need for healing and cathartic hugging/crying was bigger than my need for angst haha!   
> Well I'm going to be dedicating most of my writing time to the Big Bang (if you haven't checked it out yet PLEASE DO! Come to the dark side, we have prompts and puns) but I promise chapter 4 of Summer's Place is coming along (slowly)  
> Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you all are staying safe out there!

Yang stared at Blake.

Her partner’s brow was furrowed, sweat beading on her forehead, mouth twisted in a frown and eyes moving restlessly beneath their lids. The moans and cries of the wounded echoed around her, but she barely heard them.

The frantic run through Mantle had been exhausting. The mix of emotions they all were feeling at their teammates condition was like a beacon for Grimm and things had gotten sticky a few times too many for comfort. Arriving at the south end of the city the team had found that JNPR had successfully established a safe zone at an abandoned school (aided in no small part by the unexpected arrival of the Ace Ops – or at least, some of them – who had appeared to have had a change of heart. None of them had shared the reason they had changed sides, but they had Robyn and a shell-shocked Qrow in tow so no one was asking). Penny darted in and out of the safe zone, bringing more and more injured civilians. Pietro walked his chair up and down the aisles of the makeshift hospital set up in the schools gymnasium tirelessly, doing what he could where he could.

“I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do right now.” he’d said after Yang had practically dragged him over to Blake’s cot. “The injury is clean, but I would need time. And time is unfortunately” - a loud distant boom had cut him off here - “not on our side. But I promise -” the older man had said, placing a fatherly hand on Yang’s shoulder “- I will do all in my power to help her.”

Pietro’s words had been little comfort. Especially when the news spread that their supply on pain medicine was running dangerously low.

Blake moaned from her cot, and Yang jumped up towards her, the 10th time she’d done so in an hour, and her hands fluttered uselessly over her partner’s form. Unsure.

She eventually settled on pulling the blanket further up over Blake’s shoulder.

Gods, she had come _**so close**_ to losing her…

Jaune had done what he could, successfully stopping Blake from bleeding out, but his aura could only do so much. Especially after -

Yang squeezed her eyes shut against the images that refused to leave her alone…

_Yang crouched behind a fallen wall, blood roaring in her ears – not that much different from the roaring of the Grimm blocking their path. Blake lay in her arms, breathing heavy and strained. She had finally lost consciousness and Yang was unable to wake her back up and now panic was beginning to set in. The makeshift tourniquet on Blake’s knee was soaked through and blood made Yang’s grip slippery._

_Across the street she could see Weiss and Ruby also crouched behind shelter, peering around the car rolled on its side at the pack of Alpha Beowulfs blocking the way._

_Ruby waved to get Yang’s attention, and once Yang looked up Ruby mouthed silently ‘ **stay there** ’ then turned and gave Weiss a nod. Weiss set her jaw in determination and nodded back. Ruby took a deep breath, her shoulders shaking, then gave a loud cry before darting out from behind the car straight at the Grimm, Crescent Rose already slicing the closest beast in two. Weiss was close behind, and Yang could hear the shimmer of her glyphs activating. In fact, that was **all** she could hear._

_Blake had stopped breathing._

“ _No, no, no, no….” Yang lay Blake on her back before lowering her ear to Blake’s mouth, desperate to feel one puff._

_Nothing._

_She put two shaking fingers to Blake’s throat. Then pressed her ear to Blake’s chest._

_Silence. The heartbeat that Yang would know in a second wasn’t there._

“ _Fuck fuck fuck -” Yang forcefully pushed aside her panic and tilted Blake’s chin back, pinched her nose and pressed her mouth against Blakes,_ _and blew out a breath hard._

_Then she leaned back and laced her hands together, placing the heel of her palm against her partner’s sternum and began pumping. Counting under her breath._

_Blake’s ribs audibly cracked under her hands and Yang let out a sob. “Come on.. come on...”_

_Another breath. More counting._

“ _Come on Blake please...”_

_Blake lay still and pale, lips tinted blue._

“ _You can’t do this to me. You can’t...”_

_Her shoulder started to throb in pain, but Yang ignored it, pushing another breath down Blake’s throat._

“ _Y-you promised! You hear me!? YOU PROMISED!!”_

_Tears blurred her vision and her sobs broke free as she continued to mindlessly pump Blake’s heart and breath for her._

_Then, there it was._

_A cough._

_A groan._

_Yang fell back against the broken wall, arm and shoulders burning. Her gaze frantically flicked over Blake’s form, hoping against hope…_

_Blake sucked in a sharp breath and gasped, her eyes flickering beneath the lids. Yang crawled over her, pressing two fingers into Blake’s throat._

_There._

_A pulse. Weak but steady._

_Blake’s eyes fluttered open, a sliver of gold revealed like the rising sun. “Yang..”_

_Blake’s voice was weak but it washed over Yang in cool relief, and she just couldn’t help the smile that split her face. “Hey there.”_

Yang shook herself forcefully from the memory. Ruby and Weiss had driven back the Beowulf pack and cleared the way, but Blake’s condition made things infinitely more urgent. By the time they had finally made it to the safe zone and found Jaune, Blake had lost a lot of blood, and aura couldn’t replace it.

_Or other things…_

Yang couldn’t help her gaze travel downwards, where Blake’s bandaged leg was hidden under the blanket.

She swallowed down the sudden lump in her throat.

“Mmm..” Blake stirred in her cot, shifting and rolling her head on the pillow.

“Hey hey.” Yang said, her voice low, leaning over the cot and brushing a lock of dark hair from Blake’s forehead. “Shhh...”

Blake slowly opened her eyes, peering up at Yang’s face in clear confusion. Then recognition flashed through her eyes and she relaxed back into the cot. “Yang.”

The softness in Blake’s voice pulled a lump up in Yang’s throat. “Hey.”

“Where..?”

“Safe zone. Pietro set up a makeshift hospital and things seem to be stabilizing out there. For now.” Yang frowned. “I don’t know why Salem is holding back, but it can’t be good.”

Blake nodded solemnly and began to struggle to sit up, wincing.

“Whoa hey, don’t move too much. You’re still hurt pretty bad.”

Blake stared down at her bandaged chest. “What happened?”

Yang looked away. “You… you were...”

“Yang…?”

“You died okay?” Yang blurted out. “You stopped breathing. Right there, in my arms, and I -” The lump in her throat got bigger, cutting off her voice. Her eyes burned.

“You died. You were gone.” Yang’s voice wobbled and she buried her face in her hands.

“And you brought me back.”

Yang looked at Blake, her vision blurred.

“You saved me, Yang. And I’m here now.”

Blake slowly, achingly, extended an arm, palm up. An invitation.

Yang reached out without hesitation and took her hand, squeezing.

They sat like that for a while in silence. Then Blake inhaled. “It’s gone isn’t it? My leg.”

Yang squeezed her hand again. “Yes.”

“I want to see it.”

“Blake -”

“I want to see it.” Blake’s repeated, her tone firm.

“….Okay.”

Yang helped her sit up, tucking several pillows behind her back for support. Blake winced and gasped the whole time until she was finally sitting up in her cot, sweat beading on her forehead and eyes clenched shut. But she reached for the end of the blanket anyway, slowly pulling it away from her leg.

Yang tried to keep her gaze on her partner’s face, scrutinizing for any sign of distress, but Blake just stared, going pale.

Yang’s eyes drifted down and she sucked in a breath.

It was the first real look at Blake’s injury she’d gotten, and it shocked her.

There was only an inch or two past the knee left, wrapped heavily in gauze bandages. The rest was just gone. Blake ran a hand down her thigh, but stopped before reaching the knee. She took in a shaky breath and pressed both her hands to her face.

Yang fell to her knees beside Blake’s cot and wrapped her arms around Blake’s trembling form, careful not to squeeze her torso. Blake turned and pressed her forehead into Yang’s collarbone, sniffling.

Yang stroked her hair and shushed her, gently rocking back and forth.

Neither of them knew how long Yang held Blake, slowly swaying. But eventually Blake pulled away, reaching a hand up and rubbing her cheek. “Yang?”

“Yeah?”

“Where are Ruby and Weiss?”

“They went to find something to eat, I think. It was a while ago.”

“Can...” Blake looked hesitant. “Can you go get Ruby? I want to talk to her.”

Yang pressed her lips together, the warring emotions of staying by Blake and going to her sister clashing in her heart, but before she could make a decision a familiar voice sounded behind her. “Oh go on. You need to stretch at some point.”

They both turned to look, startled (Blake winced at the sudden movement) and saw Maria standing by Yang’s seat, looking unimpressed.

“How long have you been standing there?” said Yang, hurriedly wiping the tears from her eyes.

Maria cocked her head and regarded them, her eerie blue goggles narrowing. “Long enough.” Without asking she took Yang’s seat and tapped her cane on the floor. “Go to your sister. I’ll sit with her. Brothers know it’s the only thing I can do here.” Maria grumbled.

Yang turned to look back at Blake, frowning. “But -”

She jumped when Maria forcefully poked her in the thigh with her cane. “Are you arguing with an old lady? Go. If you sit here any longer you’ll turn into a statue. It’s true. I saw it happen once.”

Blake quietly chuckled, then flinched, wrapping an arm around her ribs. But she looked at Yang and managed a smile. “Go on. I’ll be okay.”

Yang breathed, then finally nodded. She leaned down and pressed her lips to Blake’s forehead. “I’ll be right back.”

As Yang walked away she could hear Blake saying “So tell me about the time you saw someone turn into a statue.”

She was too far away to hear Maria’s response, but she could pick out Blake’s laugh easily over the noise of the crowded gym.

Yang shoved her hands in her pockets as she walked the corridors toward what she thought was the cafeteria. Looking down at the floor, trying not to think, she didn’t even see the person she almost ran into until she thudded into a surprisingly solid body and stumbled backwards.

“Oh! I’m sorry.”

“It is alright.” Yang found herself looking into the neon green eyes of Penny, carrying a heavy looking box in her arms.

“Hey Penny. What have you got there?”

“Hello Yang. I’m just bringing some more supplies I recovered from outside the safe zone. I know my father will need them.”

“Oh, okay. Have you seen Ruby?”

“Yes. She is with Weiss in the cafeteria. Is that where you are going?”

“Yeah.”

Penny blinked, then smiled. “The cafeteria is the other way. Would you like me to walk you there?”

Yang shrugged. “Sure.”

They walked in silence for a while, whatever was in Penny’s box jingling and clanking together faintly. Eventually the silence became too much for Yang and she cleared her throat. “So uh, Penny? How are you feeling? You know, with the whole…?” Yang waved her arm vaguely.

Penny frowned and furrowed her brow. “It feels… different. Not bad, just...different. Like...a warmth… in here.” Penny shifted one arm away from her box and tapped her fist against her chest. “Do you understand what I mean?”

“I… I think so.”

Silence fell again. Yang could hear voices getting louder up ahead and spotted a few signs pointing them to the cafeteria.

“I’m sorry about what happened to Blake. I know my father can help her.”

Yang couldn’t help the hitch in her breath. “Thanks, Penny.”

Penny went quiet again and they turned a corner, seeing the double doors up ahead with a makeshift sign indicating the cafeteria.

“My mom is the Spring Maiden.”

Out of the corner of her eye Yang saw Penny whip her head around to look at her.

Yang sighed. “I haven’t told anyone yet. Not even my team. I don’t know why. I just… can’t.”

Penny stopped walking and turned to Yang wearing a contemplative look. “I don’t have a mother. But if I did, I think I would understand what you are feeling.”

Penny slowly started walking again, still looking at Yang. “I think you should talk to your team. That’s what I would do. And our friends are more important now than ever.”

They paused at the doors, and Yang could hear the chatter of voices inside. Yang turned to Penny, opening her mouth to say something, but Penny spoke first.

“Don’t worry, Yang. I won’t tell anyone.” Penny smiled. “Ruby and Weiss are in there. I need to take these to my father. I’ll see you later.”

Penny gave her a small wave and walked back down the hallway they had come from.

Yang watched her go, then inhaled unsteadily. She straightened her shoulders and wiped her cheeks again. Her eyes were probably still red, but she still didn’t want to walk in looking like she was going to fracture into a million tiny pieces any second.

Even if that’s how she felt.

She pushed open the doors to the cafeteria. The room wasn’t as full as she’d thought it was, but there was still a decent amount of people milling about, sitting at long tables, serving hot soup and drinks. She spotted Ruby’s bright cloak and Weiss’s pale hair easily, across the large room sitting beside each other at a table with their own bowls of soup. They had their heads together in a hushed discussion, and Yang saw Weiss carefully wrap an arm around Ruby’s waist. Yang suddenly got the feeling that she was intruding on something.

Her feet had carried her closer to them almost without her permission, and she cleared her throat awkwardly.

Weiss almost jumped away from Ruby, her braid whipping around as she turned to Yang. Yang spotted a faint blush to her cheeks.

Ruby was much more subdued, turning in her seat to look at Yang. “Hey.”

Yang noticed her eyes were red and puffy. Guilt welled up inside her, thick and hot. She had barely thought about how her sister was feeling since Blake’s injury.

But Ruby straightened in her seat and wiped her nose with the back of her glove. “How’s Blake?”

Yang swallowed back the lump in her throat. “She’s… she’s doing okay. She’s awake now. She wants to see you.”

Ruby took a deep breath before replying. “Okay.”

Ruby carefully stepped out of the bench before standing and straightening her cloak, picking up a retracted Crescent Rose from its spot beside her. “You can have the rest of my soup, Yang. I’m not hungry.”

“Ruby...” said Weiss from her seat.

“It’s fine.” Ruby propped Crescent Rose against her shoulder, avoiding their eyes.

“ **Ruby.** ”

It was rare that Yang had to use her ‘big-sister’ voice, at least in recent years, but it was still just as effective as it was when Ruby was seven and had gotten caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Ruby froze almost mid-stride and Yang could see her gulp. But instead of saying anything, she walked up to Ruby and wrapped both arms around her sister, hugging her tight.

Ruby stayed frozen for a single moment, then **melted** , her own arms coming up to hug Yang back. Ruby squeezed hard, almost too hard, and Yang could feel her small body shaking with repressed sobs.

Yang buried her face in her sister’s shoulder, her own suppressed tears spilling over and streaming down her cheeks to soak Ruby’s shirt.

“Thank you. Thank you. I’m so so sorry...”

Ruby wiped her tears on Yang’s coat, sniffling.

They stood like that for a while.

Until a soft clearing of a throat caught their attention and both sisters turned to see Weiss, her eyes gentle, holding a steaming bowl of soup in each hand. “Why don’t we all go see Blake? I’m sure she could use a hot meal. You both could.” Weiss’s gaze turned mildly accusing at Yang.

Entirely without her permission her stomach growled loudly, and Yang pulled away from her sister trying to hide a sheepish smile. “Okay, okay.”

Weiss’s expression turned smug and she shoved one of the bowls into Yang’s hands. “You can eat on the way. Let’s go.”

* * *

Yang had not realized how how hungry she was until she took her first spoonful of soup. It wasn’t anything spectacular but it was hot and filling, and to Yang is was nearly the best thing she’d ever tasted. The walk to the hospital was quiet, only broken by Yang’s slurping and Weiss’s little noises of disgust at her teammate’s manners.

The hospital was much the same as Yang had left it. The noises of pain had quieted down as Pietro had made his way slowly up and down each aisle treating the injured where he could. She spotted Maria who now appeared to be reading out loud from a small book in her lap while Blake still sat propped against the pillows quietly listening.

Weiss tapped Ruby on the shoulder and handed her the other full bowl of soup. “Here. Go talk to her.”

Ruby took the bowl and gulped, going pale as she looked at Blake in her hospital bed.

“Hey.” Yang put her hand on Ruby’s shoulder in comfort. “It’ll be okay.”

Ruby nodded and looked down at her boots. Then she raised her head, lifting her chin and squaring her shoulders. And as Yang watched her sister’s back as she made her way to their injured teammate’s bedside, she felt a strange mix of pride and pain. Pride at the amazing young woman and leader her sister had become, and pain at what it took to get there.

As she watched Ruby sit beside Maria and hand Blake the bowl, Yang felt a cool hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry. They’ll be alright.” Weiss said, a softness in her eyes as she also watched Ruby and Blake embrace from afar. “They’re strong.”

“I know.” Yang replied softly. “I know.”


End file.
